Kitchen working triangle

Designing and planning a kitchen layout is critical to how successful the finished result will perform. Many things need to be considered; traffic flow, ergonomics, storage, resale, visual aesthetics.

There is an increased trend towards open-plan kitchens, which means kitchens not only need to look good but they also need to be tidy and more importantly, accessible at all times, without anyone getting under the cooks feet.

The way traffic flows through a kitchen will depend on the layout. Access from more than one point of entry best enables the whole family to get what they want, when they need it.

Beleive it or not, your fridge is the most accessed area within the kitchen. Try to keep this located at one end of the kitchen, if possible.

'Patto's Second Triangle' suggests that larger kitchens should incorporate two working triangles. The traditional triangle, between the sink, oven and fridge is well known.

The second triangle is between the fridge, pantry and utensils/crockery with bench space nearby - the two triangles meet at the fridge but do not cross each other. This allows everyone to get what they need quickly and without frustration.

Now that coffee machines are becoming more sophistacted and popular in the home kitchen, another triangle will need to be considered between the coffee machine, fridge and utensils/crockery with bench space ......